On the way out: Tineke Frikke has been pushed out of the Newton Higher Income fund after a run of poor returns.

Three struggling investment funds holding £4.6 billion of savers’ money lost their managers last week.

The boss of the £2.2 billion Newton Higher Income, Tineke Frikke, has been pushed out following a run of poor returns.

Jupiter manager Anthony Nutt, who turns 60 next year, has announced his retirement. He steps down from the £1.9 billion Jupiter Income Trust in January, then the £516 million High Income fund in July.

A saver with £10,000 in the Income Trust fund five years ago is now sitting on just £9,837. The same sum in the High Income fund is worth £11,400.

Philip Matthews and Ben Whitmore will take over the funds, respectively.

The Newton Higher Income fund has been popular with income-seekers for paying as much as £7 on every £100 invested as income each year.

But such ambitious payout targets hurt the fund’s overall growth. In five years it has turned £10,000 into just £10,628, according to Morningstar compared to £11,055 on average at rivals.

Now new manager Richard Wilmot will be given the green light to invest in a wider range of shares to boost returns.

But Ben Yearsley, head of investing at broker Charles Stanley, prefers alternatives, such as JO Hambro UK Equity Income, which offers an average income of £5 on every £100 invested and has turned £10,000 into £14,219 over the past five years.